"New" Old Stepladder

While "junking" with Erin at the flea market, I found this marvelous stepladder (heart skipping a beat). 

 Actually I found two ladders....the first was red.  I had been looking for the perfect ladder for several months and decided I'd just have to paint this red one.  Then just as we were taking one last lap, I saw this one and I fell in love!  The steps fold out (in) just like a ladder I had as a child.  It has obviously had a lot of use with its paint spatters.  I can't decide if I want to paint it white or leave as is.  It has a lot of character this way.  I was lamenting the fact that I didn't need both ladders as I'm really limited for space.  Besides what would hubby say?  Why was I bringing two stepladders home??  Erin was a sweetheart and bought the red one from me.  She has lots of primary colors, as you can see, in her garden.

My project this week was to learn more about my Canon camera.  I watched some YouTube videos and finally learned how to "back button focus".  And......my camera has a touch screen which makes it really easy.  I just touch where I want to focus.  I also wanted to experiment with creating more light using the camera since most of my house is lacking in it.  I changed exposures while working in live view.   I used my louvred closet doors as a backdrop which helped.  I also changed lenses from my 50mm 1/4 to my 18 - 200 mm.  What a difference.  Because my shooting areas are so tight I needed to have a wider angle view.

I used Kim's Sunday preset on left image, Quiet Dreams on right image and no preset on center image.  

Have a great week.  I'll be working on lighting and exposure for the next photo sessions.

~ Give ~

A Walk in My Back Yard Garden

I hope I haven't disappointed my readers.  I've been out of circulation for a few weeks.

I've actually been off trying to get acquainted with Instagram (I know..... I'm a late bloomer).  I've also tried to be a little more active on Facebook, or at least looking at everyone else's posts to the Studio Online group.  I've been learning to really use my phone for images and editing those images.  I'm getting better.

I've contemplated closing my blog because it seems people are more active on IG and FB.  But.....after reading Carol Hart's post regarding same, I decided to keep it going for a bit longer.  I started it as a sort of diary/journal of my art work.  So really, it was primarily for me to keep tabs on my progression. 

 I discovered that what I love about blogging (aside from seeing my progression) is the personal connection with fellow artists.  Facebook and Instagram just don't do that in the same way.

Today I'm sharing a walk around my back yard garden.  These images were taken on my iPhone.

Wishing you a beautiful day!

~ Give ~

  

Berry Love

As members of Kim's Studio Online group, we are given prompts to play with.  A most recent prompt was "berries".

If you're a photographer, I'm sure you've had a few shoots, especially still lifes, that have given you less than exciting results.  I have done three different shoots for the "berries" prompt.  So frustrating, I wasn't even going to post my photos.  However I decided to post as every shoot is a learning experience.  These are the best of 80 shots on different days.  I used Kim's "Prairies" preset for this one.

Below I used her "Raw" preset.  I like the wide aperture setting on this one as it blurs the background.

I was determined to use my vintage table cloth for this shoot.  It was a bit of a challenge to keep the overall image clean and uncluttered looking.  I used Topaz Simplify for the painterly look  of the two images below.

Finally, my Canva layout.  Still learning how to use their labels.

Have a great week everyone!

~ Give ~

And Then There Was Canva and a New Computer....

Have you seen Canva?  I found out about it through Kim Klassen.  It's a fantastic site with probably hundreds of templates, stock images (or use your own), graphics and on and on to help you make any kind of layout you wish.  You can do a header/banner for your blog, a Facebook cover photo, business card, ad, presentation page...sky is the limit.  

I did this is about two minutes.  Yes, you can do it in Lightroom or Photoshop, but this is sooooo quick.  I typically do my layouts in the print module of Lightroom and then take them into PS to add text.  With this, it's a bit quicker.  It's free unless you choose to use their illustrations or stock images.  Those are $1 each.  Most of us have a million images, so there's no real need to use theirs.

I've been missing on my blog because I bought a new Mac desktop and have been getting it set up.  It's such a pleasure to use....fast and effortless.  My 2009 iMac was very tired and slow and I had the max amount of memory on it I could get.  It was time.  Apple had my computer for a couple days to do the data/file transfer from the old to the new.  I must say everything seems to be as advertised.  

Go try Canva and have some fun.  I think you will like it.

~ Give ~